Police academy prepares recruits to hit the street

Two police recruits slowly positioned themselves behind a car parked on top of the Major Taylor Boulevard garage. One recruit moved closer to the trunk.

A seemingly innocent search doesn't always mean police officers can be cavalier in their approach, an instructor quickly reminded the recruits.

“In Springfield within the past two years we've had a bad guy pop out of the trunk and shoot two officers,” Sgt. Timothy M. Watts told the recruits during the drill.

With a calm and cool voice, the sergeant instructed the recruits about the proper way to approach the car.

“We want them to make mistakes … here,” he said over his shoulder.

The 41 recruits in the Worcester Police Academy are a mix of 17 recruits prepared to join Worcester police and 24 officers from other police departments, including Charlton, Blackstone, Dudley, Grafton, Holden, Northboro, Paxton, Webster and Southbridge.

The class is diverse, with recruits from different ethnic backgrounds and some with military experience. The average age of the Worcester recruits is 27.

They began Oct. 15 and will graduate April 5. Since the beginning the recruits have learned discipline and the importance of following the chain of command and have taken numerous tests on general laws and other police topics.

“The first few weeks are a little more stressful when it comes to discipline because we want them to know what they are getting into,” academy Capt. John J. Ryder Jr. said.

Three recruits, two among Worcester's, dropped out during the academy.

Recruits head to the academy for eight hours a day. Now much of the training involves learning skills such as defense tactics, motor vehicle stops and enforcement and firearms training.

When the academy comes to an end recruits will go through a week of simulated scenarios to apply everything they have learned and also to reinforce how quickly they must act and apply correct procedures. Once they hit the streets as full-time officers the new Worcester officers will ride along with veterans for a few months.

“I'm excited. It is something I wanted to do my whole life,” said Joshua Monfreda, 31, of Worcester, a city recruit. “I feel very strong with what we've learned so far.”

Jay Godino, 28, of Framingham, will join the Framingham Police Department upon graduation. He believes the training he is receiving in Worcester will translate well in his town, which has a similarly diverse community and some similar issues.

“I had no idea what to expect coming in,” he said. The instructors relate to the recruits well and fully prepare them for life as a police officer, he said.

The state Municipal Police Training Committee, the organization that sets the standards for police academies, requires specific hours per topic and that creates a 20-week academy. Worcester's certified academy goes 25 weeks.

“The nice thing about having a 25-week academy instead of the 20 that is required is we have a lot of extras,” Capt. Ryder said. “We do extra things to give them an idea of what will happen on the streets.”

Officers from many divisions speak to the recruits. Representatives from federal agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives give lessons to the recruits.

The recruits know the Worcester officers training them have seen murders, encountered gang members and responded to all kinds of calls.

“We have a great mix of full-time academy staff, plus the resources of the highly trained and experienced officers,” Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said. “The recruits need the broad range of experience they gain in the academy in order to police such a diverse community such as Worcester.”

Worcester has 325 patrol officers, but between now and August the police department will lose eight officers. With the new recruits on board, Worcester will have a net gain of nine police officers by August.

Chief Gemme said the priority for filling positions when officers leave will be specialty positions such as sexual assault investigations and traffic investigation.

The chief would like to add officers to the Traffic Division and Community Impact Division's anti-crime team but still needs to have the service and patrols divisions staffed to handle the front-line calls.

The Worcester Police Department is also chronicling the academy and posts videos to its website. Chief Gemme said this is so the public can see the training officers that receive, but the videos are also for people thinking of joining the force.

Departments spend money and time to conduct background checks on recruits, and it is tough when a recruit leaves the academy, considering another candidate could have had that spot, the chief said.